Arteta called Arsenal women's comeback win over Madrid 'inspirational', says coach Renee

London, April 18 (IANS) Arsenal women’s head coach Renee Slegers has revealed the level of support she got from the men’s side after their comeback victory over Real Madrid Femenino, including a message from Mikel Arteta calling Renee’s team ‘inspirational’.

Renee was appointed as the Arsenal head coach in January and has led the team to the semifinals of the UEFA Women’s Champions League. The Lady Gunners will next take on Olympique Lyonnais in the first leg of the matchup at the Emirates Stadium on Saturday.

The Renee-coached Arsenal were handed a tough 0-2 defeat at the Estadio Alfredo Di Stefano but claimed a thumping 3-0 victory on home turf to stay alive in the competition.

“I feel like since I've come to the club that it's one club. I've naturally been in contact with the assistant coach on the men's side because he's Dutch. But after we won against Madrid, I got messages from everyone across the club, including Mikel, and he said it was inspirational, and if you look at what they have now done against Madrid, I think it's so strong.

"I think they look like a team, and I think that's why they won against Madrid with so much individual quality, so it's amazing to be part of this. There were just some media here at the club, and Jurrien Timber was sitting there, and he said, ‘Renée, good luck for tomorrow’. So the guys also know what we are doing, and we know what they are doing, and we support each other, so it's great,” said Renee at a press conference.

Arteta’s Gunners certainly took the correct inspiration from their counterparts as they registered a massive victory with the same scoreline, at the very same venue, just a few days later and followed it with a massive 2-1 win at the Santiago Bernabeu in the second leg to secure a 5-1 result on aggregate.

--IANS

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